NACDS Foundation, APhA Release Medication Therapy Management 2.0

If your focus is health policy, and your concerns including improving patient outcomes in a cost-effective way, then new "required reading" has hit the street.  At the American Pharmacists Association meeting (APhA 2008) this weekend, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation and APhA released the latest version of the document that describes "core elements" of medication therapy management (MTM).

Practically, this document lays out the pharmacist-provided services that, in collaboration with physician care, can help patients maximize their medication therapy.  For the healthcare system, this means attacking the $177 billion in annual direct and indirect costs that result from failure to take medication as prescribed, as well as the $1.3 trillion annual drag on the economy that result from the seven most common chronic diseases.

Indeed, this document is worth a read.